GCA & Multimedia Is 'Everi'

Cash-access equipment supplier Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc., which acquired Austin, Texas-based slot manufacturer Multimedia Games last year, announced a new corporate name for the merged company.

As of August 24, the company retired both the GCA and Multimedia monikers to become Everi Holdings, Inc.

The organization-wide rebranding, together with the company’s new logo and new corporate name, reflect the merged entity’s successful transition to “a full-service casino gaming equipment and payment solutions provider focusing on a broad range of opportunities to address customers’ casino floor and technology needs,” according to a statement from the company.

The company’s new ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange will be EVRI. To celebrate the rebranding, President and CEO Ram V. Chary and other Everi executives rang the opening bell at the exchange on August 24.

GCA’s acquisition of Multimedia Games surprised many in the industry. Multimedia, under former CEO Pat Ramsey (soon to be chief digital officer at Aristocrat Technologies), had grown from a Class II supplier into a successful and growing manufacturer of Class III slot machines, its Austin location allowing for a steady stream of engineering talent from the local University of Texas.

Multimedia’s games had been growing in popularity in many U.S. casino markets, and the company had a runaway hit with the TournEvent system, an instant tournament system equipped with cameras, leaderboards and hosts that turned slot tournaments into a cross between a sporting event and a game show. Multimedia used the system to create a national event called TournEvent of Champions, in which casinos equipped with TournEvent across the country hold satellite events leading to a finale in Las Vegas.

 (This year’s fourth National TournEvent of Champions will be held at the Wynn’s XS nightclub in Las Vegas, with the winner taking home a $1 million.)

Multimedia’s success made it one of the most mentioned acquisition targets as the slot-manufacturing sector consolidated with a series of mergers over the past two years. Most speculation had the company being acquired by another slot supplier. However, GCA, the leading supplier of ATMs, credit services and cash-access equipment to the casino industry, saw an opportunity to expand its product base, and acquired Multimedia for $1.2 billion.

The company will introduce the new logo mark and trademarks for Everi Holdings at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas (September 29-October 1). All of the company’s current sub-brands, including TournEvent and TournEvent of Champions for the games business and CashClub, CentralCredit and Everi Compliance (formerly NEWave) for the payments business, will continue to be supported.